South Sudan's Kiir, rebel leader Machar sign revitalised peace deal

South Sudan's President
Salva Kiir signed a peace agreement with rebel factions in the
Ethiopian capital on Wednesday to end a civil war that has
killed at least 50,000 people, displaced two million and held up
the country's progress since it gained independence seven years
ago.

South Sudan plunged into warfare two years after
independence from Sudan in 2011 when a political dispute between
Kiir and then vice-president Riek Machar erupted into armed
confrontation.

A previous peace deal signed in 2015 fell apart a year later
after clashes broke out between government forces and rebels.

Machar, leader of the main rebel group the SPLM-IO, and
other insurgent factions signed the new agreement with the Juba
government after assurances that a power-sharing accord would be
honoured.

The deal, mediated by Sudan, reinstates Machar to his
former role as vice-president.

The stability of South Sudan is also important for Sudan and
other neighbouring countries, who fear a new flare up of the
conflict could flood them with refugees.

The civil war started in 2013, fuelled by personal and
ethnic rivalries. The conflict has killed at least 50,000
people, many of them civilians, according to the United Nations.

An estimated quarter of South Sudan's population of 12
million has been displaced and its economy, which heavily relies
on crude oil production, ruined.

The secession of South Sudan also hit Khartoum's economy
hard, taking with it most of the region's oil reserves.

Khartoum and Juba agreed in June to repair oil
infrastructure facilities destroyed by the war within three
months to boost production and said a joint force would be
established to protect oilfields from attacks by rebels.

The United States, Britain and Norway, known as the Troika
which back peace efforts, welcomed the signing of the deal.

"We hope discussions will remain open to those who are not
yet convinced of the sustainability of this agreement," they
said in a statement. "We must seize this broader regional
momentum to secure peace for the people of South Sudan."

Mahboub Maalim, executive secretary of the East African bloc
IGAD, said the rivals had been at odds over security
arrangements and governance but that the final version of the
deal had addressed disagreements.

"This is probably the best-negotiated proposal signed so
far," he told Reuters after it was signed at a meeting of IGAD
leaders.

Asked what a failure to implement the deal would entail,
Maalim said: "We expect the South Sudanese sides to embrace the
wind of change in the region."

The region has seen a series of stunning rapprochements over
the past months, including a reconciliation between Ethiopia and
Eritrea.

IGAD had been expected to readmit Eritrea as a member on
Wednesday, 11 years after Asmara walked out on the body in
protest at Ethiopian forces entering Somalia.

But that move was
postponed for procedural reasons and was likely to take place in
the bloc's next gathering, officials said.